"Queer Eye" star makes history with Cosmo cover
Jonathan Van Ness is known for being a champion of representation and now, he's broken new ground.
The Queer Eye grooming expert is being celebrated as the first solo non-female Cosmopolitan UK magazine cover star in more than 30 years.
On the cover, Van Ness wears an orange and pink tulle off-the-shoulder Christian Siriano gown along with striped socks and sneakers.
The magazine cover line reads "Jonathan Van Ness: Yep. We did it. You're totally welcome."
Van Ness, who identifies as non-binary and uses male pronouns, tweeted the cover image.
"First non-female cover star in 35 years [LGBTQ flag and heart emojis] thanks for having me [LGBTQ flag and heart emojis] ," he wrote. "@CosmopolitanUK showing more variations of beauty for young LGBTQ+ people YAS QUEEN photo by @Rachell_Smith."
According to Time, the British boy band One Direction appeared on a Cosmopolitan UK in December 2012, but Van Ness "is the first non-female-identifying figure to land the cover on their own since Boy George in 1984."
"Jonathan is warm, funny, opinionated, kind and brave, all qualities that resonate with our audience," Cosmopolitan UK editor-in-chief Claire Hodgson told Time. "He is encouraging people to love who they are, which is at the heart of what our brand stands for -- we could all do with a little more self-love in our lives."
By Lisa Respers France, CNN via The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved.
The Gayly. 12/3/2019 @ 3:32 p.m. CST.